Through Her Stomach
by WillyFourEyes
Summary: Stuck in the middle of the woods during their survival exam with no clear idea of where to go, Mai tries to stay on Natsuki's good side with a tasty meal. Implied Mai/Natsuki and Shizuru/Natsuki, and minor spoilers for Mai-Otome episode 9.


They had been walking around in the forest for what seemed like hours without rest. Even though Mai, the top-ranked Otome in the Coral class, was leading the way, her roommate Natsuki seemed to be more aware of their surroundings. She worried that the longer they stood outside wandering around, the more they risked falling behind their fellow classmates. She threatened to snatch the compass from Mai's hands, but Mai pulled it away from her, leaving Natsuki to fall on her face and close to a nearby puddle of mud.

"Hey!" said Mai. "You promised that you would let me lead this time."

"And right now," Natsuki huffed, "I'm seriously starting to regret that decision. We've circled around this same set of trees for the third time now. Just admit that you don't know where we're going, and I'll take over and try to lead us out of here."

"You're overreacting, Natsuki. We'll make it in time. I know exactly what I'm doing."

"That's what you said an hour ago!"

Natsuki turned away from Mai and angrily tossed her bag onto the ground, not in the mood to say anything further on the subject.

"Never mind," she said, searching for the tools necessary to pitch a tent. "It's getting late. We should stop and rest here for the night."

"Great idea," said Mai. "It's almost time for dinner, anyway. I'll cook."

Natsuki looked over her shoulder and watched Mai unload her own bag, pulling out her sleeping bag and a pair of large spoons.

"Oh, so now you actually want to do some work. Are you just saying that to save your own hide?"

"No! I'm serious! I'm really good at cooking. My mom taught me a lot of things. She showed me how to make appetizers and soups and stuff. Just give me a handful of those tomatoes and berries and I'll show you what I can do."

Natsuki reluctantly complied. "One of the Pearls or Meisters should be here soon to check up on us. I'm leaving this in your hands, Mai. Don't mess this up!"

Using the tomatoes and berries gathered earlier by Natsuki, Mai spent the next half hour preparing a soup for their dinner. While she waited, Natsuki looked to the stars to see if any of the other Otomes were on their way. Mai, having completed her dish of the evening, signaled for Natsuki by banging one of her spoons on the side of her cooking pot.

"Dinner's ready!" she called out.

"Thank goodness," said Natsuki. "I'm starving."

Mai dipped her spoon into the soup and then waved it in front of Natsuki's nose, smiling cheerfully. "Luckily for you, I've got just the thing to satisfy your appetite. Here, try some."

Natsuki tasted a little bit of the soup using only her tongue. It wasn't anything special...no different than the tomato soup served at the cafeteria, but it didn't taste terrible, either. She was eager to find out why Mai asked her for the berries, so she gradually ate more and more from the spoon until none was left. It was only then that she noticed the hidden flavor of the berries - bitter at first, but sweet after a few seconds. Mai leaned in closer to Natsuki, waiting anxiously for her reaction.

"It's, um...uh..."

"Yes?"

"This is...actually pretty good!"

Mai saw a hint of sincerity behind Natsuki's forced smile, and decided to seize the moment. "Do you really think so?" she asked.

"I mean, I've never tasted your cooking before," Natsuki replied, "but you did a good job with this, Mai. You _have_ to teach me how to make this one day."

"Wow! That's the first time anyone's complimented me for my cooking... I'm glad you liked it. You're the best friend a girl could ever have!"

Mai dropped her spoon into the pot and hugged Natsuki as firmly as she could. Natsuki struggled to stand up, but eventually gave in to gravity as both girls fell hard to the ground.

"Ouch!" Natsuki shouted. "Be careful! You almost knocked over your cooking pot!"

The cooking pot was the least of Mai and Natsuki's worries, as they could hear a familiar-sounding giggle nearby.

"Oh, my...when I heard the signal, I didn't expect to see anything like this!"

Natsuki blushed and tried to push herself away from Mai as quickly as possible. To have Lady Shizuru, of all people, see her in such a position embarrassed her to no end.

"Signal?" Mai turned to Natsuki, losing a bit of her own patience. "What signal? Don't tell me you pressed the button!"

"No, not that signal," said Shizuru. "I was talking about the one for dinner. That's why I came to check up on you girls. I'm perfectly confident that our two top Corals wouldn't need assistance getting to the end of this course."

"Please forgive us, Lady Shizuru," Natsuki said hurriedly. "We didn't mean to embarrass ourselves in front of you like that. I assure you that it won't happen again."

"But you two looked so cute down there. My only regret is that I didn't get here sooner."

Both Mai and Natsuki groaned.

"Anyway, what have you prepared for us this evening."

"Tonight's main dish is my very own style of tomato soup," said Mai. "Natsuki helped me pick out some of the ingredients...including a special one."

Natsuki took Mai's clean spoon and gathered a serving of soup for Shizuru, who ate it happily.

"It's delicious," she said. "I'm glad to see that the two of you worked so hard on it together. The berry flavor adds an interesting touch. Personally, I prefer a little basil with my tomato, but I guess that's just the traditionalist in me."

A small drop fell on Shizuru's dress, and Natsuki scrambled to clean it up with a handkerchief. She couldn't completely remove the stain, but Shizuru gave Natsuki a smile and a hug to let her know that she appreciated the effort. She then turned to Mai and hugged her with her other arm, leaning in close enough to whisper into both girls' ears simultaneously.

"You two girls play nice, now," she told them. "I wouldn't want either of you to hurt your pretty faces through rough-housing."

"We understand," they replied.

"Oh...uh, Lady Shizuru?" asked Natsuki.

Shizuru stopped to help herself to another spoonful. "Yes?"

"Could you please not tell the others about what happened earlier?"

"Don't you worry, Natsuki. It'll be our little secret."

"Somehow, I doubt that," said Mai.

Natsuki wasn't completely ready to forget the fact that Mai had led them to the middle of nowhere, but she was feeling charitable enough to allow Mai to sit next to her as they and Shizuru finished the rest of the tomato soup, killing time by sharing funny stories about class. That night, she fell asleep soundly, plotting her next move toward the other end of the forest. Mai pulled her sleeping bag beside her, hoping that batch of soup wouldn't be the last one the two of them shared before graduation.


End file.
